In religious allegory, a patience stone is any rock a troubled person can bare her soul to. Rocks don't judge or interrupt, they just listen. As the Afghani film "The Patience Stone" demonstrates, it need not be a literal rock, it can be anything or anyone willing to pay attention.

For the unnamed mother at the heart of Atiq Rahimi's movie, that stone turns out to be her husband, a Muslim soldier who’s spent most of their marriage on the front lines. A stupid argument with one of his own comrades resulted in paralysis and possibly brain death. His wife is left to fend for their two children while also minding his body as enemy troops descend on the village.

The majority of "The Patience Stone" takes place in their cramped apartment. Left alone with the husband she barely knows, the woman begins to work through her frustration by telling him the things about herself he never bothered to ask. It's a cathartic confession, bridging the distance between them and intensifying her devotion to a man she sees as a monster.

Rahimi intentionally leaves details vague. The location of the story is never nailed down, nor are the warring sides identified. We know our main characters are Muslim, but political affiliations would merely confuse the situation. "The Patience Stone" is not about those things, but rather one woman finding the ability to express herself amidst turmoil.

Such a narrative requires a skilled actress to pull it off. Golshifteh Farahani (“Chicken with Plums”) is marvelous. Most of "The Patience Stone" is essentially a monologue. We eavesdrop on this beleaguered wife reliving memories both joyous and painful. The actress does as much with her face as she does the words, careful to underplay the most difficult situations. A single tear says more than a torrent of weeping.

While some of Rahimi 's story follows a natural progression, it's often hard to see where "The Patience Stone" is actually headed. Will outside dangers spell Farahani’s doom, or is her end something she’ll bring on herself? There are surprising developments and revelations along the way, and they all eventually dovetail into a beautiful conclusion.

The
lowdown: As war closes in, an Afghani woman takes care of her husband, a
soldier paralyzed in a dispute with one of his own troops. In her isolation, she
begins to tell her life story and confess her secrets to a man she never really
knew.